A Clear and Happy 2018

Christmas is my absolute favourite time of the year, but I over-schedule December to the point that I am left deflated in January. I blinked, and, suddenly, it’s March.

Although I signed all our Christmas cards “love and best wishes for 2018”, I thought I’d take an opportunity to be more specific. These are the things I wish for each and every one of you over the next ten months:

Passion. Find something you love and tunnel energy, thought and work into it. Become so enthralled with a new hobby, activity or job that it makes waking up a little less painful. It’s also something fun to share with others when they ask “So what have you been up to?”. I have answered this question with “not much, you?” for far too long. My wish is for you to find tremendous joy in something this year.

Love. Surround yourself with people who love you in all your quirky glory. Take a break from trying to please everyone, and stop chasing people. Forget the slights and destructive criticism from 2017; it’s toxic and irrelevant at this point. My wish for you is to immerse yourself in the company of people who love you. Those who don’t? Wish them well and send them on their way. They don’t matter this year.

Quiet. Not from external noise, though, from internal noise (I mean, I can’t unload the dishwasher without The Smiths blaring and folding laundry without Netflix on would be torture). The internal noise I speak of is the kind that kicks in as you lay down to sleep or the kind that follows you back from the bathroom in the middle of the night. It’s the “what ifs”, “if only’s” and “I should haves” that steal peaceful, restorative sleep. F@$& that. My wish for you is the quiet, cozy peace that resembles sitting by a fire on a rainy afternoon.

We are, ourselves, our first, best and most reliable source of happiness. Barring medical conditions that make it impossible (and I have resources to share with you should you need them), happiness is a decision that I pledge to make every day this year.